Yesterday, Detroit locked up the first seed in the Eastern conference with a close shave win against Orlando.

Orlando's fixing to be Detroit's first round opponent. I have to give Orlando minor credit . . . Detroit played perfect basketball in the first quarter, and Orlando did not sit down. So is the case with all the teams against Detroit these days.

There was one moment, in particular, where Rasheed Wallace slapped an oncoming Orlando ball-carrier, and the ball went sailing out of bounds. Rasheed at that point had 2 early fouls. The refs called it out of bounds on Detroit, but they failed to call what was clearly a third early foul on Rasheed. I'll let Orlando fans stew on that one.

I'm still wondering if the Pistons can carry any tune enough to run for 16 wins.

I'm a little concerned that Orlando or whoever might take the series to 6, or more.

Phoenix has more than enough on their plate. 1st round Lakers scare last year, down year in general . . . both Detroit and Phoenix are not serving their fans well if those teams fall short of a conference finals.

But enough about expectations. Eastern is far from decided for a Finals rep, and the same is the case in the Western. As long as the two teams who get there earned it . . . it's all good.